


Nico's Twin

by W01FS0NG



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Almost Kidnapped, Batman trusts no one, Bickering, Blood of Olympus, Bonding, Coach Hedge is a grumpy yet helpful satyr, Dreams, F/F, Flashbacks, Gen, Kaldur is smart, LGBTQ+ characters, Mid season 1 of Young Justice, OFC is bi, OFC is trying to be a good sister, Protective! Wonder Woman, mystery girl, sort of goes along with the book
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:12:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27091828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W01FS0NG/pseuds/W01FS0NG
Summary: It was supposed to be a regular day at Mount Justice. Then a girl with a sword in her side teleports in. No one was whelmed.Aria was going on an unsanctioned solo mission to help her brother. Problem? A.) A Roman scout nearly killed her. B.) Mortals almost didn’t let her leave and C.) Someone she didn’t trust was acting like the sister she was supposed to be. No dam way she would actually get along with any of them, right? Right?
Kudos: 22





	1. Strange Arrival

It _was_ a typical day of training for the young heroes. Sparring sessions had gone well, and they were just about to end it. That’s when it happened.

Something made of shadows emerged out of nowhere. Out stumbled a teenage girl. She looked around with tired yet wide eyes. “Well, this definitely isn’t where I need to be,” she said, clutching her side. A sword seemed to have lodged itself in her body. “Unless he’s here.” She nearly toppled over.

“Are you okay-?” M’gann asked, stepping forward.

She seemingly pulled a black double-edged spear out of nowhere. “Don’t come near me,” the girl spat. A dangerous look developed in her eyes.

“O-okay,” said the Martian, backing up slightly.

“Where am I?” Was her next question.

“Dude, you literally look like you’re about to pass out,” Kid Flash stated. He gestured to her. “And you have a freaking sword in your side!”

The mysterious girl glanced down. “Oh, yeah, I do. That’s not good. I guess it’s mine now.”

“How can that be your reaction to getting stabbed?” Robin wondered out loud. “You’re clearly about to pass out-“ the young hero tried to point out. He stepped towards her, but she took a drastic measure. By that, well… she raised _the dead._ Weird zombie/ghost things were standing in the training room!

“I said don’t come near me!” She leaned to one side, but caught herself. Next her spear disappeared and she fell to the floor, going right to sleep.

The heroes looked between each other. Wally zipped up to her and poked her. “KF, what are you doing?!” Artemis whisper-yelled. 

“Welp,” he said, standing up straight. “She’s passed out.” He then sped back to his original spot. 

The mentor in the room sighed. “Let’s get her to the Medbay,” Black Canary told them. Superboy and Kaldur lifted her and took her to the medical wing. 

As they did, Aqualad became fixated on a necklace she had. On the leather string, were two strange beads on it. The first one had what looked like a maze on it. The second one had tiny Ancient Greek writing. He almost forgot that he could read Greek. There were names of dead people on that bead. It almost made him wonder if she survived the Titan War. If she had, that would mean the camp she mentioned would be Camp Half-Blood. By the way, she came into Mount Justice, and with the powers she has, he would say that she’s a child of Hades. He can’t exactly talk to just any of his teammates about this. He needs to consult with his king and Wonder Woman.

“Kaldur,” Conner grabbed his attention. They were now in the medical wing, and she was on one of the beds. “Something wrong?”

“Hmm?” The Atlantean let the teen girl go and turned to his colleague. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“If you say so,” the half Kryptonian accepted with a shrug. Conner went back to the others while Kaldur went to his room. The clone thought nothing of it as he went to the kitchen. The scent of cookies in the oven hit his nose. He wondered if M’gann was baking them for the new arrival. By the voices coming from the area, she was.

“Wally can you _not_ hover around the oven?” Artemis asked him. “She’s baking them for the girl.”

“But they’re so good,” the ginger head complained.

“And they’re not for you.”

As the others hung around, Robin went into the gym where all his gymnastics equipment was. As he spun, leaped, and pulled through different routines, he thought about the mysterious kid who just arrived. He wondered if she knew about Mount Justice or if she teleported here by accident. Going off of what she said, the latter seemed more likely. He also wondered if she was also from Cadmus. How else would she have a power, unless it was magic? But who was she referring to as “he?” Dick definitely doesn’t know her, and judging by everyone’s reactions, no one knows who she is. That still doesn’t mean she wasn’t looking for any of his teammates.

As he walked back to the hangout space of the facility, he found Aquaman and Wonder Woman walking behind Kaldur towards the Medbay. Curious, the bird boy followed.

“How is she?” The Amazon warrior questioned the badass blonde wearing a business jacket.

“Just fatigued, from what I can tell,” Black Canary stated. “She looks about fourteen.”

That’s when Robin saw her wake up. Knowing that Megan would be excited by this, he went over to the kitchen. “How are those cookies coming?” He asked.

“They’re almost done,” M’gann informed him with a smile. 

“Good, because she's awake.”

At the beep of the timer, the Martian rushed to the oven and opened the door. After putting on her oven mitts, she placed the tray on top of the stove. “Perfect,” she muttered before placing the treats on the plate. “I’ll go bring these to our guest.” She then walked out of the kitchen.

“I’ll come with you!” Wally said rapidly as he sped after her.

“What was that about?” Came Zatana’s voice. The other members of the team turned to see the magician and Rocket back from their mission.

“We have an unexpected guest in the medbay,” Robin told her. He then remembered something. “Where’d you guys put the sword she came in with?”

“Being inspected by Red Tornado,” Connor replied. “Why?”

“I just wanted to take a look at it.” He turned to Zatana. “You should come too.”

“Why?” She asked.

“You’ll see.”

———————

Aria di Angelo dreamed that she stood in a town somewhere in Puerto Rico. Her twin, a Satyr, and a teenager ran right past her. “Nico!” she called out. After word spread that her twin brother was delivering the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood with a Roman Praetor and a Satyr, she became set on helping him. She had dreamed that her brother was in danger before, even before the news spread. She felt as if she _had_ to help him. She didn’t know how Clovis got his last known location, and she didn’t care. Aria hasn’t seen Nico for months. More than half the year.

Something pulled her into a building. Hunters and Amazons alike fought this... this giant. He didn’t seem like how she thought a giant would look. He was handsome. Aria could have sworn that she heard him smile. “I can sense you, demigod,” he said. 

He walked over to her, but the Amazonian shouted to get his attention. “Hey! I’m your opponent!” 

______

The demigod woke up with a start and a gasp. Four people were standing near her. She didn’t register that they were talking until her heart and breathing slowed. “Where am I?” she asked as she tried to get off the hospital bed. The blonde lady got in front of her.

“Unfortunately I can’t tell you that,” the blonde told her. “But you need to rest.”

“Resting can wait,” Aria said as she tried the other side. “I need to find my brother and his traveling companions _now._ ” Upon getting her feet on the floor, she remembered her injury. She winced in pain. The dark-skinned teen helped her stand.

He spoke in Ancient Greek, “Who is your brother?” 

Aria gave him a strange look. “You know Ancient Greek?” She asked in the same language.

“The three of us do, yes,” the dark-haired woman voiced. Aria then remembered the fourth person in the room. She looked at him. He nodded.

Aria nodded to herself. Before she could respond, the Blonde woman spoke again. “What do you think you’re doing? You still have a massive stab wound in your side. It needs to heal.”

“No,” Aria argued, giving the woman a firm glare. “What I _need_ is some Ambrosia and Nectar. Things you probably do not even have around here.”

“You’re not going anywhere until you answer a few questions.” Aria turned to see a man in… she squinted her eyes. _Is that a bat costume or something?_

“I’m afraid I’m pressed for time,” the demigod told him. “Sorry.” She tried to disappear into the shadows and leave this place forever, but there weren’t enough shadows in the room. She sighed and grumbled. “Stupid shadows.”

“With respect, Batman,” said the dark-haired woman, stepping forward. “She really needs to get going.”

“Tell me why,” he pressed.

“I don’t have to answer to you, mortal,” Aria said, opting to move past him. This turned out to be a mistake on both of their parts. The weird bat dude tried to stop her by judo flipping her. Aria responded by activating her double-edged Stygian iron spear by pressing on a charm on her bracelet.

“Okay, whoa,” the blonde turned to Aria. “Settle down, kid.”

Di Angelo looked to the ones who spoke Greek. They nodded. Aria sighed and turned her spear back into a bracelet. She then stepped away. The demigod didn’t hesitate. “I need to hurry and get to my brother before he collapses,” Aria stated. “He’s bringing something important to a location that you can’t know about by August. And I don’t trust the Roman he’s traveling with. With me there, our shadow traveling would be more effective. A giant is hunting them down, he may or may not have caught my scent too. For your sake, you need to let me leave or else you might all die, even if you _can_ see through the mist. I came into this facility by accident.” They all just stared at her for a small moment. “Also I would like the sword that I came in here with.”

She could have sworn the strange man in the bat costume’s eyes squinted. He asked, “You mean the sword you were stabbed with?”

With a straight face, she said, “Since the original owner is unavailable to claim it and since _I_ was stabbed by it, it is technically my sword now.”

“Fine,” said the blonde lady. “I will get you the sword, just stay here where we can treat you.” Batman left with her.

“Come sit down,” the black-haired lady motioned for her to get back on the bed. The daughter of Hades obliged. “How did you get that stab wound anyway?”

“Camp Half-Blood is being surrounded by troops from… New Rome I think it’s called? Anyway, I was going to sneak away so that I could help my twin brother. My plan was to slip away while no one was noticing. One of the scouts found and attacked me. Now I’m here.”

“Well, here,” said the woman. In her held out hand was ambrosia squares. “I’m a demigod too.” Aria took one in her mouth.

The young demigod was about to ask a question when she spotted the blonde man’s symbol and asked something different, “Are you guys Atlantean?”

The blonde man smiled. “Yes, in fact, I am Arthur, King of Atlantis.” He gestured to the black teenager standing next to him. “This is Kaldur, a Captain in my army and my mentee.”

“I however,” said the woman, “Am Diana, an Amazonian. Zeus is my father.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Aria replied. “I am Aria di Angelo, daughter of Hades.”

“So I was right,” Kaldur muttered under his breath. Aria chose to ignore those words.

“How are you both here right now? Aren’t some of the sea creatures and maybe some minor sea gods siding with Gaea?”

“Some are,” Arthur replied. “Yes. But Poseidon’s forces are keeping them at bay well enough.”

The child of Hades didn’t catch his words though. Her mind was too consumed with finding a space with enough shadows so that she could get out of here and get Nico.

She still vividly remembers the look on his face when Percy told them about Bianca’s death. They were both torn up about it, but Nico was the one who made the son of Poseidon promised to bring her back in one piece. Aria and Nico were just about inseparable. Yet that was when the rift first appeared. See, after Percy broke the news to them and they cried their crocodile tears, they fought. 

_“Nico where are you going?!” Aria yelled as she ran after her brother. They were already in the forest._

_“Away from here!” He answered._

_Finally, she caught up with him and grabbed onto his hand. He stopped and looked at her with such a concoction of emotions she couldn’t place a single one._

_“Nico, I know you’re hurt. I am too, but the people here can help us! We can learn to control whatever powers we have_ here _instead of out there where we don’t know what we’re doing! Nico we are_ not _in the 1940’s anymore! If we go out there with that new world, then we would be in over our heads.”_

_He ripped his hand from her grasp. “I don’t think you are hurt!” He snapped at her, causing her to gasp and step back slightly._

_“How dare you-“_

_“No! Bianca was OUR SISTER. She’s gone now and it’s all Percy’s fault!” She wanted to say that they didn’t know that, but it would only make things worse. “I was_ in love _with him, and he goes and breaks our promise! And you! How can you be thinking of anything else besides the fact that OUR SISTER is dead?! Gone!! She was my only tie to our mother-“ he stopped himself. Immediately regretting his words._

 _“Excuse me?!?!?” She took angered steps towards her twin with teary eyes. “You are not being fair!! Yes, I was a lot more interested in who our dad is than our mother, but don’t you_ dare _say that_ I _was not close to her! And how could you think that I don’t care about Bianca’s death?! Do you think she wants this?! Us going into the unknown unprepared? Do you think she wants us wallowing in misery?! We are children of_ Hades, _one of the Big Three, for Pete’s sake!”_

_“And what do you think that even means?! We’re not born of Poseidon! Or Zeus! We would be outcasts!” He threw his newly acquired figurine of Hades from his Mytho-Magic collection to the ground. “You can stay if you want, but I’m leaving!”_

And so he left. Throughout the next two years, he’d appear and then disappear while she stayed year-round at camp. For the most part, they would tell each other everything, yet she could tell that he was hiding something. While he became known as the “creepy ghost boy” around camp, others called her the “shadow queen.” That last time she saw him was at the battle on Mount Olympus (The Empire State Building). Now that he’s been missing for more than half a year, Aria almost regrets staying at the camp. She thought she lost her twin brother. The only connection left to a time where a World War was happening.

A ginger-haired girl and a ginger-haired boy walked in. “Hi, I'm Megan.” she greeted Aria cheerfully. That’s when she noticed the others in the room. “Oh, when did you guys get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago,” Diana replied. “We’re here to ensure her safety. And that she’s on her way as soon as possible.”

The girl seemed as if she was hit with some kind of emotion or tension. “Oh, okay then.” Walking up to the table, she said, “I’ll just leave this here for you, welcome.” The teen girl then hurriedly shuffled out of the room. Aria looked at the baked goods as if she was almost disappointed. _Why aren’t they blue?_

“So,” said the ginger-haired boy, suddenly appearing right in front of her. Those weren’t the right words for it, and she knew that, but what is he? “You got a number, beautiful?”

“Nope,” Aria popped the ‘p.’

The teen’s face showed perplexion. “What kind of teenager doesn’t have a phone number?”

“The demigod kind,” she told him bluntly. His smile faded into even more confusion.

"Can I at least get a name?" 

"Macaria," she joked, but he couldn't tell whether or not she was kidding. Both the Amazonian and the Atlantean's eyes widened at the mention of the name, however.

—————

“I don’t trust her,” Batman stated as he and Black Canary walked through the halls.

“You rarely ever do anyone,” Dinah told him. “But I have a feeling we need to.” They walked up to the examination room to find Red Tornado, Robin, and Zatana examining the sword.

Robin walked up to the two adults and pointed back to the weapon. “That sword is weird,” he claimed. “It’s not made of any type of gold I’ve ever seen. And Zatana said that there’s some sort of magical element on it, but she doesn’t know what it is. By the way, what are Aquaman and Wonder Woman doing here?”

Zatana stopped playing with the sword and turned to the other heroes. “Wait, they are? Why?”

“We don’t know,” answered the Canary. “What we do know is that the girl came here by accident and needs to hurry.”

“Really?” Asked Robin. He then averted his gaze. “Interesting.”

The man of bats stepped towards the sword and took it in his hands.

—————

Now that Aria had the sword she was walking with Kaldur out of the Medbay. “Are you sure you don’t want our help?” He asked her as they went to the zeta tube entrance.

“Yeah,” she responded, walking to a darker part of the room. “And hey, you know where the camp is, so don’t be a stranger.” He nodded at her.

All she had to do was think of her brother. She felt her power as she shifted from the metallic room to open space. A bunch of foliage. A great amount of power similar to hers had just been used! She turned around at the sound of Nico’s voice. It was soft. He sounded as if he was about to pass out. “Nico!” she shouted, catching his body before he hit the ground. She felt a crunchiness when her knees met the ground. The sort of crunchiness that could only come from dry or dead grass. Her twin was already asleep.

The tip of a sword appeared by her chin. “Who are you?” asked a teenage girl’s voice. Aria guessed this girl was the Roman Praetor. Four bars, along with the initials SPQR were branded on her arm. Presumably, the symbol of her godly parent was tattooed right next to them.

The daughter of Hades wanted to draw her weapon or even this roman sword, but that would only cause problems. She peered right into the Roman’s eyes. “My name is Aria di Angelo.” At this, the Roman lowered her sword, optics wide. Taking the surprise into account, the Greek stood. She almost smiled to herself. Nico had talked about her. “I’m guessing you’re the Roman Praetor meant to bring back the statue.”

“I am,” she replied. “My name is Reyna.”

“For your sake, I hope you don’t double-cross us.”

“Believe me. I won’t.”

“Coach?” The child of Hades turned to the Satyr. That _was_ Coach Hedge right?

“Don’t worry, shadow girl,” he said. “She’s cool.” He then noticed the Imperial Gold sword. “Where’d you get that? It looks cool!”

“A Roman scout stabbed me with it on my over here,” Aria stated. “Had to pop up somewhere else to fix it.” She glanced around. The grass was black. “What happened, _exactly?”_

“A Roman attack dog tried to kill us,” Reyna explained. “Nico unleashed this immense amount of power. The ground swallowed the guy, along with several of the dead.”

“I see,” said Aria as she knelt back down, not wanting to ask questions. The girl placed her hand on her brother’s forehead. He was getting increasingly pale. “This is really bad. He’s going into a shadow coma. If I shadow traveled all of you to camp, it would be too late for him. We’d have to rush him to the infirmary.” With worried eyes, she looked at Hedge. “Coach, do you have anything on hand that you could use to heal him?”

“Don’t worry, cupcake,” the Satyr told her. “I’ve packed unicorn drought, ambrosia squares, and nectar.” The child of Hades stepped aside in order for Coach to work. At first, he poured the nectar into Nico’s mouth and manually made him eat the ambrosia. After a few minutes, it was clear that that didn’t work.

Aria couldn’t hide the panic in her eyes and quivering breaths. Next, the goat tried the unicorn drought, but even that didn’t work. Hedge stared at the dying Nico for a solid thirty seconds before deciding, “Yep, I’m doing it.”

“Doing _what_ exactly?” Both girls questioned him. They glared at each other for a small moment before returning their attention to the Satyr. 

“I’m going to plant him.”

Aria peered at him with creased eyebrows. “I’m sorry, what?” 

“It’s the only thing I can think to do.” He started digging. 

The girls sighed and nodded as if agreeing to a temporary truce. “If it’s the only thing you can do…” Reyna trailed off.

“We’ll help,” finished Aria.


	2. Bickering and Bonding

Aria studied the time of day by making a shadow with her arm. Realizing what time it was, she laid down with a thump and groaned. “How can it only be 6:00 pm?” Worry has strained on all of them, making them think it was later.

“How can you be worried about the time when your twin brother is dying?” Reyna questioned her.

“We’ve done basically all we can to help,” the Greek argued. “Coach won’t let us anymore.” She stood. “And I _am very_ worried about my brother. I’ve been sitting here, praying to our father to not let him slip away.”

“Is he answering?” Reyna challenged.

“What do you think?” Aria snapped bitterly. They all knew he might not be getting to it, seeing as the Gods are all experiencing schizophrenia. Reyna was about to speak but held her tongue. “What’s the matter?” She asked. Aria tried not to show that she was upset. “How are you being so protective of him anyway?! You’re a Roman!”

“I know you’re his sister,” her tone hinted at malice. “But you haven’t been there for him. I have!”

“Well, no shit Sherlock! While you’ve been here, I’ve been helping defend _my_ people against _yours._ There was almost no chance that I _could_ come all the way here.” She gestured to her brother. “But I sensed he was in grave danger, so here I am!”

“You could have come sooner! Why now of all times?!” 

“I was preoccupied! First, it was the Roman scout, then I shadow traveled to a mortal place that I’m pretty sure was top secret. They almost wouldn’t let me leave. Thankfully, a Demigod ally of theirs arrived to help me. Now I’m here. It happened as it happened. I’m not one to dance with fate.” 

Reyna studied her for a moment. “You look as if you don’t believe that,” she pointed out. 

Aria’s resolve crumbled slightly. “I’d rather not get into it.”

“And why would that be?” 

“I don’t have to answer to you!”

“For the love of the gods and my sanity!” Hedge shouted, interrupting them. “Will you two please stop bickering?!” Both girls glared at each other for a moment before giving a noncommittal noise and crossing their arms. “Good. Now I’m ordering both of you to go out and gather. Maybe fight a monster or something. I don’t care. As long as your back before sundown.”

“That doesn’t really leave us all that much time, Coach,” Aria pointed out.

“Well then hop to it, cupcakes!” He barked.

Reyna began to walk away from camp but noticed Aria wasn’t following. “Are you coming or not?” The child of Hades sighed and caught up with her.

—————

They decided to head into Buford Zippy Mart. Neither one of them liked the clothing options available. Coach already had a first-aid kit and the tent had enough food and drink. Conclusion? The satyr just wanted them out of his hair.

The two of them met at the center of the store. “Find anything?” Aria asked, unsure why she even bothered.

“Not necessarily,” Reyna answered with a sigh. The child of Hades’ lips pursed. She turned around and wandered away. She almost couldn’t believe that this was the sister of the guy to who she told her darkest secret to. The Roman knew that she couldn’t trust the same information to this girl. At least, not yet. Reyna began comparing how Nico described her to how she felt about the girl. 

First off was the ambivert. Nico described her as not an extrovert, but not an introvert. Ergo, ambivert. That remained to be seen, although very different from Nico, who was just an introvert. The second was her kind and understanding nature. Reyna saw how Nico could see her as that. During their initial encounter, the Roman saw bits and pieces of understanding. Yet, it was clear to her that her kindness was only given to Nico. Or at least, only the Greeks. But at the same time, could she really blame her? It _is_ Romans attacking Greeks. Not the other way around. Unless you count what Leo Valdez did. Even then, could it be considered as such? As explained to her back in Italy, it wasn’t exactly him.

Okay, wait. She’s getting off track here. This next thing, Nico didn’t exactly tell her, but what he told her about his sister, she gathered that Aria might be the more mature one. When Nico gave into a child of Hades’ greatest fault, she chose to stay at camp because she was thinking about how Bianca would want her to carry on instead of wallowing in her death. Reyna honestly didn’t know how to feel with that information.

The fourth thing about Aria Nico described was her appearance, which was a definite checkmark. Braided black hair, like their sister’s, but with bangs like his. Just as tall as Nico. Pale olive skin. The same brown eyes, like their mother’s, but Reyna could see bits of a madman in both of their irises. She looked just like a female copy of him, well, aside from the brighter clothes (which was the camp shirt and off-black synthetic pants). It almost amused her that the twins would have the same metal for their weapon.

“Reyna!” The Greek demigod called. Curious, the Roman Praetor went over to her.

“What?” She asked.

“I found a map of the county.” Actually interested, Reyna peered at the price of paper. “We’re here,” she said as she pointed to a spot on the right side of the map. “The next town over…” she slid her finger in a northwest direction, following a road. “Here. Just five miles away. There’s nothing here that Nico would like, and I want to get him some fresh clothes.”

Reyna nodded. “Fine by me. Don’t suppose you have enough energy to shadow travel, do you?”

“I’ve got _some,”_ she admitted. “Might mean we’ll have to walk back or hitchhike though.”

“That’s fine.”

They walked out of the store and into an alleyway so no one would see them. Once there, they realized they were in a much larger town. “Let’s find the shirt and get out of here. I don’t want to stay too long and attract any monsters.”

“Agreed.”

They perused the clothing store for about twenty minutes before Aria found a “My Chemical Romance shirt.” Another five and she found a “Panic! At the Disco! Shirt” 

“Great,” Aria muttered as if it wasn’t. “Now I don’t know which one to choose.”

“Just pick one,” Reyna groaned.

“Fine.” The girl pursed her lips again and hummed in question. She stared at one, holding it higher than the other before putting it down and doing the same thing with the other t-shirt. How could she be so indecisive? 

“Oh for the gods’ sakes,” the Roman muttered, grabbing the “My Chemical Romance shirt.” She dug into her pockets and realized she didn’t have any money. “Do you have any dollars or coins?” She asked Aria, holding out her hand.

“Uh.” She dug through her pockets. “I have a ten.” She placed the bill in her hand.

“Thanks.” 

“Mmhmm.” 

As they walked to the cashier, Aria stopped, saying, “Oh.”

“What?” Reyna almost snapped as she turned around. “Is there a monster in the store?”

“No, the cashier lady’s just…” she averted her gaze from the seventeen-or-so-looking teen. “Really cute.”

What? Really? Interesting… “You swing that way?” 

The child of Hades looked at her as if almost taking offense. “Technically, I swing both ways. Why?” She stepped closer to her with slightly squinted eyes. “Got a problem?”

“No.” Reyna took a small step back. “I just wasn’t expecting that.” The Roman developed an idea in her head. “Do you wanna pay?”

“Uhm.” Aria blushed slightly, seeing-orbs widening. She shoved her hands deeper into her pockets. Reyna thought it was cute. “You mean like, talk to her?” She quickly glanced at the woman then back to Reyna. “What do I even say?”

“You don’t have to _talk_ to her, you can just hand her the shirt and the money when she asks for it and you can be on your way.”

It only took fifteen seconds for the Child of the Underworld to grab the ten-dollar bill and the shirt from Reyna’s hands. The Roman watched as the Greek walked up to the cashier. Her posture suggested nervousness.

“Hi!” The cashier greeted brightly. “How’s your day going?” 

“Uh, fine,” Aria almost stammered. “You?” 

“I’m doing great,” she answered. “Thanks.” She took the shirt from the girl. “Will this be all?” 

“Uh, yeah.”

“That’ll be…” she typed it into the machine. “Eight bucks and seventy-five cents. Do you want a bag? It’s just ten cents extra.”

“Um, yeah, sure.” The cashier got a bag out as Aria placed the ten on the counter.

After placing the shirt in the bag, she took the bill and put it in the machine. A few seconds later, she handed the girl some a dollar and change. “One dollar and fifteen cents is your change. Have a nice day.” 

“Thank you,” Aria said, pocketing the money and taking the bag.

“Oh!” Said the older teen, making the demigod turn around. 

The lady whispered something in her ear that made Aria blush and mutter, “Thanks,” and “bye.” The two of them waved at each other.

As the Greek girl walked up to the Roman teen, Reyna asked, “What’d she say?” as they made their way out of the store.

Excitedly, she turned to Reyna, but in a low tone she said, “She said, ‘I think you’re really cute too.’” She couldn’t hide the smile from her face. It became contagious.

So… she’s definitely an Ambivert.

The Greek demigod found herself looking at the sky. “Oh, we don’t exactly have all that much time left. The sky’s already getting purple and orange.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

Purple and orange… Reyna looked at Aria’s clothes and then back to her own. Silly, she decided, shaking her head. Her smile was arranged in a way that made it seem like she was about to laugh.

The Roman glanced at the Greek again only to find her staring at a donut shop. 

“Is Monster’s Donuts any good?” Reyna asked.

Aria urged her to walk past the joint, remembering something. She stretched out the word let’s. “Let's not go in there. It’s run by monsters, or so Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson have told me.”

“Oh, I see.”

As they began to walk out of town, Aria stated, “I almost don’t want to ask this, but… what has Nico said about me?” Her fist was in the air with a crooked thumb.

Reyna wondered when this question would pop up. “Well,” she thought back. “He told me about your past, about the Lotus Casino, he told me how inseparable you both were. Then things changed when your older sister died. He described your appearance, your personality type, and that you were kind and understanding.”

“Anything you would rebuke?” she asked. 

“Well-“

A honking sound almost frightened them. They turned around to see a red Prius slowing down. “You two need a ride?” Asked the lady who was driving. A man sat shotgun. “Where’re you headin’?”

“Oh, yes, thank you very much,” Aria stated. “My cousin and I walked over here from Buford a couple of hours ago and we miscalculated the amount of time it takes to get back. I don’t think we’ll get there before curfew. Is it alright if you could take us there?”

“Oh, of course, dears,” the woman said. A click sounded. “Hop in. The doors are unlocked.”

“Thank you!” The two demigods stepped into the car. Reyna wasn’t very sure of this plan at all. What if these people were monsters? What if they were mortals, but kidnappers?

“You kids live in Buford?” The lady asked, trying to make conversation as she merged back into the street.

“Yeah. In fact, we just moved.”

“Oh really, how ya liken’ it?” 

“Eh, I don’t know. I’m still adjusting. We used to live in a larger town, but our parents, her mom, and my dad, are siblings, and they both got a job not too far from Buford.” Okay, not exactly true, but not exactly false either.

“Oh, well isn’t that nice.” The woman smiled. “I always say it’s best to have family around.”

—————

When they reached Buford, the lady didn’t stop. “Um, excuse me, Miss? You missed the turn.”

“Oh, that was intentional, deary. See, neither of you are going home again.”

Panicked, the demigods glanced at each other. They gripped each other’s hands and Aria shadow traveled them out. They thankfully appeared at camp but didn’t stick the landing. 

Somehow, Reyna found herself hovering on top of Aria. They both blushed, but the Greek’s was deeper. Their eyes were wide. Aria released a small yell and scooted back while Reyna rolled off.

Coach Hedge came around saying, “Oh, there you two are, I was beginning to worry.” He then noticed the distress the two were in. “I miss something?”

“Uh, no, Coach,” Aria said as she stood up. She suddenly remembered that she had Nico’s shirt in the bag. “I got Nico a shirt.” The girl held it as if proud of herself.

“Cool,” said Hedge. “You fight any monsters?”

“No,” stated Reyna, standing up and dusting herself off. “But we did almost get kidnapped.”

“Huh.” He went back to Nico.

“So, how is he?” Aria asked him, following the satyr. 

“I think he’s doing better, but it’s a little hard to tell at the moment.”

A flicker of anger showed in her eyes. “I-.” She hesitated, taking in a breath. “I see.” The satyr disappeared into the tent.

Reyna touched her shoulder. Partly alarmed, Aria turned. The Roman saw the relief in her eyes when she realized it was just her. “Just give it some time,” Reyna urged. “He’ll come back to us.”

“You can’t know that for sure-“

“It’s _Nico,_ remember? He’s been through Tartarus. He’s been… he’s been through a lot. He can get through this.”

Aria sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Now who’s ready for some chow?” Hedge asked cheerfully, bringing the table outside with a bunch of food on it.

“Ooo! Me!” The Greek demigod said excitedly as she helped him set it down.

Reyna found herself smiling at the sight. Okay, so maybe Nico’s sister wasn’t all that bad.


	3. The Dream

Aria didn’t know if she was seeing things correctly. She was in New York. Bodies of demigods were strewn all over the streets along the stopped cars and sleeping mortals. Too much death.

“A-aria?” Came Percy’s voice. Quickly, she ran over to him. He looked like he was dying. His body was covered in blood. “I-I need you to do something for me.” He took her hand.

“If it’s about Annabeth, I can get you to her right now-“

“It’s too late for me,” said the son of Poseidon. “I’ve failed in trying to save New York and the Olympus. You have to go on. You have to-“

No,” she decided. This couldn’t be happening. Somehow she felt like a thirteen-year-old again. Shorter and less experienced in battle. Her body screamed for her to hide, but her mind said unleash the powers of the underworld.

“You don’t have to decide, little one,” said a woman’s voice.

The scene shifted. She was now back at camp. Everyone was frozen in battle. Gaea stood in front of her. 

“Hello, child,” the primordial greeted. 

She stared at her in shock. “N-no. This can’t be right. You, can’t be-”

“Yet here I stand. Your camp will be destroyed. With every single demigod, Greek _and_ Roman dying. I am giving you a choice. Stand with me, and you will be rewarded. Back out, and well… you die.”

“Oh, go back to sleep,” she told him off.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t you like to see your brother again?” She showed Aria’s brother dying in a jar. He had no more pomegranates left. His shadow-coma was getting worse.

“No,” Aria nearly choked as she sobbed. Yet somehow, she found her strength again. “I know that he isn’t in that jar anymore. I know that my brother can make it. Your words have no power over me!”

“Interesting.” Gaea moves closer to her. “You fear the Titan’s takeover more than you fear me.”

“Exactly. So get out of my face.”

“Fool. You should fear me more!”

“Yeah, I doubt that.”

“Then I will give you something to fear!”

The scene changed again. Now, Aria stood in the weird sub-basement of a hotel. American Jazz music played on the 1930s style radio. A Lazarus pit sat in the center.

“Hello?” Aria whipped her head around anxiously. Wide eyes studied the rock as she searched for someone she thought would be deep in the Underworld. 

“Hello?” The Demigod responded.

“Aria?” The voice asked. “Is that you, my darling? Have you finally come home at last?” Out of the shadows stepped her mom. But it wasn’t. She didn’t seem like your typical ghost.

“Mother?” Aria questioned, giving the ghost a weird look.

“Yes, my darling,” said Maria di Angelo as she stepped closer to her child. “Where’re Bianca and your twin Nico?”

“They’re not here,” she told her.

Maria’s eyes widened with fear. She clutched herself. “What do you mean, not here?” The woman began to glance around frantically. She approached her daughter, moving to grasp her cheeks, but Aria shied away. “Of course they are. Aren’t they?” 

“Mom, what happened to you?” The daughter changed the subject.

Angrily, Maria pointed at Aria. “Your father wanted to take you kids away from here!!!” She shouted hysterically.

“It was World War Two, Mother. He only wanted us to be safer,” Aria reasoned. 

“He wanted to take you away from Italy!” She shouted. “Italy is your home! He wanted to take you away to the Underworld! Away from your _mortal_ family! I didn’t want you to go.” She looked like she was about to sob. “And then Zeus angered at your father for creating Mussolini, struck down this hotel! Hades didn’t save me. He only saved _his_ children. Now that you’re here, we could be a family again. You can find my body from the cemetery, bring it here and bring me back to life.”

“Mother,” Aria’s voice was gentle. “You’ve turned into a Mania.”

“I HAVE NOT!!!” The volume shocked her and created a rumbling echo throughout the concrete and stone. “I just want you back. Can’t I have you back, my precious girl?” Again she tried to cup Aria’s face, but the teen shied away.

“Yes, you have. Now I _am_ sorry, mother. I can’t see you go one like this. You have been hanging on for too long.”

“It _has_ been so long since I’ve seen you! You’ve grown! What are you, fifteen now? My my, it’s been five years? Where are your siblings?” She clutched her chest. “Oh, how I long to see how they’ve grown!”

Aria steeped herself for her next words. “Mother, I’m sorry. But it’s been about seventy. Bianca is dead.”

Again, Maria pointed an accusatory finger at her child. “You lie!!”

“I digress.” She averted her gaze for a moment. “I do not.”

“Well, that’s alright.” The woman tries to smile. “Where’s her body? We can bring her back as you will with me.”

“No,” Arai said quickly.

“No?! What do you mean, no?!”

“I’m sorry Mother. But this plan, I cannot go through with it! I didn’t remember most of my life in Italy, but I _do_ remember you weren’t crazy! This?” She pointed to the Lazarus pit. “This will only make you crazier.” Tears swelled in her eyes, but she had to do it. There wasn’t any Imperial Gold laying around. “You are not my mother.” 

“You can’t mean that-“

“I am no child of yours!”

The Mania hissed as dissipated into nothingness.

Aria felt the presence of a god. “Well done, little sister.”

The demigod turned to see Macaria, the goddess of blessed deaths. “Macaria?” Her eyes widened with realization as to why the goddess might be here. “I’m sorry, I-“

The princess of the Underworld chuckled. “Used my name as a cover for interacting with those mortal heroes?” 

This was true. the name she used when at that strange facility, she used Macaria because she didn't feel like using her actual name. Somehow, the goddess didn’t seem as mad as Aria thought she would be. “I’m flattered. Honest,” she continued. “I feel I should let you know, your fear about your mother won’t come true. She is safe in Elysium.” She then glanced around. “Oh, I wish we could talk more, but you must awaken.”

Aria wanted to ask the goddess more questions, but she felt herself stir. The voice of a certain Roman child barreled through the misty darkness of her mind. “Aria!” She shouted.

“What?” she asked her Rudely.

“You were screaming,” the Roman explained. “We were getting worried.”

“Oh,” she averted her gaze. “Sorry.”

It was strange for Aria to see Macaria again. The only times she ever had were for weeks after Nico went missing, and while the family was in the Underworld. Macaria, the goddess of blessed deaths, had a short temper like their father, Hades, but was kind and sweet like her mother, Persephone. The minor goddess befriended her demigod sibling the first summer she stayed at camp. She taught her everything she needed to know about manipulating shadows, about the dead, and death. Yet, with all the chaos happening lately, the two of them haven’t really had a chance to talk. 

Aria smiled, earning a suspicious glance from Reyna. Somehow, she looked forward to the day's events.


	4. Nico Wakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter where things go by the book...

Nico’s eyes flew open as he gasped to life. That’s when he noticed he was flat on his back. The sky looked pitch black. The light of a fire felt warm on his cheek.

“Thank the gods.” He noticed Reyna leaning over him with her hand on his forehead. The cut on her face was gone. Yet, she wasn’t the one who said those words. Aria couldn’t be here, could she? 

Next to the Roman sat Coach Hedge, scowling. Nico almost frowned. He had a great view of the Satyr’s nostrils. “Good,” said Gleason. “Just a few more applications.” He held up a large square bandage coated with sticky brown grunt and plastered it over the boy’s nose.

Nico made a face of disgust. “What is…? Ugh!” He voiced. The gunk smelled of potted soil, cedar chips, grape juice, and a hint of fertilizer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the strength to remove it.

“Don’t try,” said Aria’s voice again. He turned his head to find his sister sitting right next to him. What was she doing here?

“What?” His senses started working again. Apparently, he was lying on a sleeping bag outside the tent in nothing but his boxers. A thousand gross, brown-plastered bandages stuck to his body. His limbs and chest felt itchy. “Are-are you trying to plant me?”

“It’s sports medicine with a little nature magic,” said the coach. “Kind of a hobby of mine.”

He tried to focus on either of the girls’ faces. “You approved this?”

They glanced at each other. Both of them looked ready to pass out from exhaustion, yet they smiled. Aria couldn’t bring herself to speak, so Reyna did. “Coach Hedge brought you back from the brink. The unicorn drought, ambrosia, nectar… we couldn’t use any of it. You were fading so badly.”

“Fading…?”

“Don’t worry about it kid,” Coach Hedge put some blue-looking liquid in a plastic bottle right next to his mouth. “Have some Gatorade.”

“I-I don’t want-“

“You’ll have some Gatorade,” the Satyr insisted. The child of Hades took more than a few sips, surprised at how thirsty he was.

“What happened?” He asked them as he sat up. 

According to Reyna, the air around them froze. The ground blackened. In one horrible cry, he unleashed a flood of pain and anger on everyone in the clearing. Reyna and the coach experienced his journey through Tartarus, his capture by the giants, his days wasting away inside the bronze jar. They felt Nico’s anguish from his days on the  _ Argo II,  _ and his encounter with Cupid in the ruins of Salona. The  _ spartoi _ disintegrated to ashes. The rocks of the cairn turned white with frost. Bryce Lawrence stumbled, clutching his head, both nostrils bleeding. Nico marched up to Bryce and ripped the  _ probatio _ tablet off his neck. Then, the ground split open beneath the Roman. He begged for Nico to stop, but he wouldn’t. He turned him into a ghost with no memory or voice and sent him down. The earth closed up, and he collapsed. Then his sister showed up.

Nico has a dream that made no sense to him, but he couldn’t focus on that now. His twin. His actual Hades-born twin was sitting next to him in tears. The same sister who helped him figure out that he was gay. The same sister who refused to leave Camp Half-Blood. The same sister he kept coming back to. The same sister who helped him convince their father to fight in the Second Titan War.

“A-Aria?” He asked, placing his hand on her tear-stained cheek. “Hey, what’s the matter?” His voice was soft. He smiled to try and cheer her up.

She spoke in Italian. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. If I went with you two years ago, then maybe it would have turned out differently. Do you know how worried I was when you disappeared?? I was worried sick. I was afraid that you were…” she sobbed. “Then you unleashed this massive power, you idiot! You were running on fumes! You could have actually died this time!”

He wiped away her tears. “Hey, it’s alright now,” he assured her. “And we can’t change the past. What’s done is done.” She sighed and nodded, wiping the rest of her tears away.

Her next words were in English. “I’m actually really proud of you, little brother,” she smiled. “You managed to pull off a level of power that I can’t yet. And you did it to protect your… friends.” He could have sworn she gave a side glance to Reyna. “Which I believe to be honorable.”

“Thanks sis.” Her smile was contagious until he remembered what he called her. “And I am  _ not _ your little brother! We’re  _ twins, remember _ ? Just because you were born five minutes before me doesn’t make you an older sibling.”

She laughed, developing a smirk. “It kind of does,” she giggled.

He huffed. “Whatever.” Despite his outward grumpy appearance, he was glad to have Aria here. “How long was I out, anyway?” Nico regretted asking the question when his sister’s smile faded.

“Three days,” she told him without meeting his eyes.

“ _ THREE DAYS?!” _ Nico shouted. He wasn’t sure if he heard right.

“You were seriously going to die if we moved you. That includes shadow-traveling to Camp Half-Blood’s infirmary. If it weren’t for Coach Hedge-“

“No biggie,” Hedge told them. “One time in the middle of a play-off game I had to splint a quarterback’s leg with nothing but tree branches and strapping tape.” 

Despite his nonchalance, the satyr looked as bad as Nico felt. He couldn’t believe he had been out for that long. He thought back to his nonsensical dream, wondering what the Harpy Ella could have meant. He knew the glimpse of Mellie would make Hedge nervous.

“What day is it?” He asked.

“It’s July 31st,” Reyna told him. “The Roman’s will attack Camp Half-Blood in a day or so.”

Nico stood up, surveying the area for his belongings. “We have to hurry. I have to get ready.”

“Here,” said Aria, putting new clothes in his hands. “Reyna and I got them while you were out. Had to hitch a ride to the next town over to get a shirt that didn’t mention anything about the Confederate Flag.”

“Thanks.” He started getting dressed. 

Noticing his hurry, Coach spoke up, “Kid, I appreciate your dedication, but if you zap us all into eternal darkness along with the Athena Parthenos, it’s not going to help anybody. Bryce Lawrence was right about that. Just let Aria take over.” The goat realized his mistake a bit late. 

Reyna’s metallic dogs pricked up and began snarling. The Roman stared at the cairn of rocks, her eyes full of torment. 

Nico was halfway through putting his shirt on when he stopped. “Reyna, I… I didn’t think. What I did to Bryce—“

“You destroyed him,” the Praetor said monotonously. “You turned him into a ghost. And, yes, it reminded me of what happened to my father.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Nico said bitterly. “I didn’t mean to… to poison another friendship. I’m sorry.”

“Nico,” Reyna said after studying his face. 

“Why did you bring me back?” He wondered out loud. “You have Aria here. She can do the rest of the job for me.”

Hedge snorted. “You’re a part of this team, you idiot. We’re not leaving you behind. Besides,” he pointed at Aria. “She’s your sister, she’ll never leave you behind.”

“It’s more than that,” the Roman said louder than she meant to, turning heads. “While you were asleep, I did a lot of thinking. What I told you about my father… “I’ve never shared that with anyone. I guess… I guess I knew you were the right person to confide in. You lifted some of my burden. I trust you, Nico.”

Nico stared at her, mystified. “How? How can you trust me? You both felt my anger, saw my worst feelings…”

“Hey, kid,” said Coach, his tone was soft. “We all get angry. Even sweethearts like me.”

“You mean violent sweethearts,” Aria quipped. Reyna smirked.

“Coach is right,” The Roman continued. “You’re not the only one who lets out the darkness once and a while. I told you what happened with my dad, and you supported me. You shared your painful experiences; how can we not support you? We’re friends. And,” she cocked her head towards his sister. “She approves of the friendship.”

He turned to his twin, not expecting her to get along with a Roman so quickly. “You do?”

“Yep,” Aria nodded. “At first it wasn’t exactly easy, but well, you were in danger and  _ all _ of us worked to keep you alive. That and she’s a pretty good wing-woman.” She clapped her hands together. A dark cloud swirled like cigarette smoke out of her palms. “Now, should we get going?”

“Wait,” Nico stated. “What about Thalia and Hylla?”

“Still no word,” Reyna informed him. “But I believe they’re still alive.”

“Ready?” Aria asked as she strapped the statue to herself. The others nodded, linking hands. Together, the di Angelo twins shadow traveled away.


	5. The Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally finished!

It was the end of the summer. Gaea was defeated, but it was not without a little Greek-Roman war on their hands. 

The team of two Greeks, one Roman and a Satyr were saved from falling to their doom by Lord Pegasus himself, along with other flying horses. They managed to land on a boat, but a Roman navy patrol spotted them. That’s when the fighting started. As the group was quite possibly about to get executed, Tyson and Ella came in to save the day.

In an effort to delay the attack, Aria, and Nico, sought to destroy the onagers while two Roman defectors spoke with their legion. The twins got their French chauffeur to drive the Romans. As they talked with their people to give a distraction, Aria and Nico shadow traveled together _once_ . Somehow Aria knew that if they did that again, she would be in no shape to fight, and Nico would be worse. They realized that Octavian was planning on utterly destroying the camp using Imperial Gold (which, even in small amounts, can be _very_ volatile). This only made them want to do their job faster. The two of them were actually glad for Solace’s help (one more than the other). Nico has to be put under ‘doctor’s orders’ not to shadow travel for a while. Meanwhile, Aria was free to raise the dead. Nico might have thought it unfair, but Aria and Will thought of it as keeping him alive.

As Tyson and Ella got Gleeson safely to his wife, Reyna had a small army of Pegasi with her. Even then, there was still a giant to deal with, but with the aid of Athena and Bellona, she defeated Orion.

The sabotage team was captured. The Roman’s fires on the camp, but the weapons went awry. As the rest of Camp Half-Blood was about to attack the Roman’s, Will let out this piercing whistle that stunted both groups. The son of Apollo pointed towards the glowing Athena Parthenos where Reyna shouted for peace. Gold light from the statue rippled across the ground. A sense of warmth could be felt.

Together, the di Angelo twins urged both sides to listen to the Praetor. 

That’s when Gaea interrupted the party. She fully turned the Legion’s monstrous allies against them. What surprised Aria wasn’t that Nico was leading the Greeks. It was that the Amazon Diana and the Atlantean Kaldur came to their aid. They helped lead the Greeks into battle.

A little while later, The Seven finally arrived. That’s when Gaea’s forces began to be more diverse. Aside from the Ogres, Wild centaurs, and wolf-headed men, were _Karpoi_ , _Dracnae_ , _Gryphons, Lamia,_ and ghosts with earthen shells.

Aria told her brother to go when Will came up to them. Then she saw Festus take Piper and Jason into the sky. A few seconds later, ammunition from an onager was fired. The sky lit up orange and yellow.

In that moment, Aria felt death twice. Once for Octavian, and once for Leo. She knew his death would hit Nico and The Seven harder than it would her. Gaea was incinerated. Every other monster had been destroyed or scattered.

Piper and Jason fell unconsciously towards the ground but were caught by eagles. In the mess, there was no sign of Festus.

—————

Overnight, the satyrs and nymphs disappeared. By morning, Grover announced that they could not sense the Earth Mother’s presence. 

The victory celebration was muted, and to be honest, Aria didn’t care for it. Many others beside Leo and Octavian had died. Both Greeks and Romans. The Apollo cabin tried to sing some upbeat songs, but lost their muse.

Chiron asked the di Angelo twins to oversee the burial rites. They agreed immediately, grateful to have been given the chance to honor the dead. The hundreds of spectators didn’t bother either of them.

Aria’s real problem was Nico once again. She knew he would be leaving both camps, having been there when he proclaimed it, but it still hurt as it did when he first left. But maybe she could talk to someone to talk to him. Will could be a great candidate for that. She saw how her brother looked at him. She saw how Solace looked at Nico. If Will said the right words, it could work.

On the second day after the battle, Greeks and Romans cleaned up the camp. Aria went to the infirmary. She helped out and even spoke with Will.

Aria was glad to share the Hades cabin with Nico and Hazel. When the sisters met, it wasn’t like her encounter with Reyna. There were emotions that would have shined if it weren’t for the previously held battle. Aria was glad just to have a sister again, even if she was younger.

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. It seemed Nico couldn’t either. Nor Frank, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, or Will. But before either of them could talk with her brother, she did.

“Nico, are you really sure you want to leave?” She asked him quietly as they stood on the porch. He shrugged. “I don’t even have to be _the_ counselor. We could be co-counselors. We’re _twins_ after all. Besides, I’ve tried to redecorate the place, but I might need a second pair of eyes.” She paused, making Nico look at her. “Listen, bro, I know you don’t feel like you belong, given that you’re the son of Hades. But look at _me_. I’m a _daughter_ of Hades. Your _sister._ I’ve made it here just fine. Though Macaria did have a little something to do with it.” 

Tears fell down her cheeks. Her voice began to waver. “It broke my heart when you first left, you know. Then again. And again. Then you went missing. Throughout my entire two years here, I’ve tried to stay strong.”

“You _are_ strong-!”

“I _act_ strong!” She corrected him, almost making him step back out of shock. “I’m strong against most things. But when it comes to you, it’s all an act. I put on this armor. I get strong with my powers. I send ghost scouts to seek you out and I call it a night. I’m begging with you to stay. For me, and all our friends. Maybe even Will Solace.”

“What does Solace have to do with-?”

“You’ll see.” She smiled. “You know, while you were unconscious near Buford Zippy Mart, I met this girl working at the cashier in the next town over. Reyna was my wingwoman. Hey, maybe I could be your wingwoman.”

He only looked more confused. “What is that even supposed to mean?!”

“It means that I’ve seen the way you both look at each other. And he’s been waiting for you to talk with him.” Before he could get a word in, she yawned. “I can’t decide if I should go to sleep or not.”

“Just go to bed then,” he told her.

Aria tried. She really did. But she couldn’t. The entirety of the last 72 hours weighed down on her. Just what was that facility she stumbled into? Who were those mortals? And that cashier. Aria wondered if she would ever see her again, or if she could even see through the mist. Or maybe not. Reyna. Why was she thinking of Reyna? Aria couldn’t tell you. There was just something about her, or was she hoping for something that won’t be reciprocated?

One of the Seven, Frank, came over to talk to Nico about Hazel and Nico possibly coming over to Camp Jupiter. Nico didn’t give him a clear answer. Next to talk to her brother was Jason. Since he was staying at Camp Half-Blood, he figured he might try his luck at convincing him to stay. To him, he said yes. Little did he know that he made his twin smile. A few minutes later, she heard a “Whoop!” from Percy. Then, “Sorry! Annabeth just told me really good news.” A few minutes after that, Nico returned. Aria finally found herself going to sleep.

—————

On the third day, the Roman’s take SUVs back to California. This occurred after breakfast, which was seriously overcrowded. It made her smile to know that Nico was there. Though she knew that Will would be forcing him to be in the infirmary for three days at least.

As she watched the Romans pile into the cars, she was approached by two people she was sure were staying at the Big House. “You showed great bravery in battle, you know,” came Diana’s voice. “You’ve given us a lot to think about.”

Her eyes squinted as her brows creased in confusion. “Think about what?”

“You saw the teenage mortals,” Kaldur spoke. “But did it ever occur to you that they are a team of heroes who defend the mortal world from mortal threats?”

“And how would I have anything to do with that?” 

The Atlantean smiled and studied the ground momentarily. “You people are _really_ not in touch with the rest of the world, are you?”

“No,” Aria chuckled. “We’re really not.”

“At any rate, you’ll see,” said Diana. “But for now, we must be going.” She watched them disappear after passing through the barrier.

The sound of footsteps approached her. “So, how do you know Kaldur?” asked Percy as he stood next to her.

“I encountered him when I was on my way to help Nico, Reyna, and Hedge bring the statue to Camp,” she told him, keeping her gaze forward. “They had to leave back to some mortal hero team.”

“Hey, since Annabeth and I are leaving, I figured I might leave Mrs. O’Leary in your care.” She finally looked at him, giving him that _really_? Sort of look. He shied away from the prospect immediately. “That is only if you want to. I’m not forcing you into it or anything-“

The daughter of Hades smiled. “I’d love to.” A large, destructive, sweet dog. Sure. Why not? “Where are you going anyway? I assume this is the ‘good news’ I heard you shouting about last night?”

He breathed out a smile. “Yeah.”

——————

The camp bead was made. It was purple and orange with a picture of the Athena Parthenos. Today was the last day of camp. There were goodbyes on top of goodbyes. Yet, no one expected to say hello.

Percy wasn’t sure if he was seeing correctly when he saw the Atlantean and an Amazonian. “Captain Kaldur? What are you doing here?” The son of Posiedon stood next to Annabeth, almost sad that Tyson had left with the Harpy Ella and Rachel, going to fix that book.

“Good afternoon, Percy,” he greeted. “But We’re actually here to speak with Aria.”

Annabeth nodded and pointed to the one they searched for. “She’s over there with her brother.” The veterans with many quests on their belts stared at the scene.

Aria was talking with Nico when she noticed the two heroes. Immediately she stood, ceasing her talk with her brother. “Kaldur, Diana,” she greeted. “What are you both doing here?”

“We came here to give you a proposition,” Kaldur told her.

“And what would that be?”

They glanced between each other. “We were wondering if you would join us with the team of mortals as heroes of the world,” Diana told her. “I would be your mentor.”

The demigod’s eyes lit up. People around them began to whisper. “That would be a great honor to fight beside you,” Aria told them. Then she looked into her twin brother’s eyes. “But I digress, now it is you who has given me much to think of.”

“Understood,” Diana stated with a smile. She held out her hand for the girl to shake. “May we be allies in battle. One way or another.”

“May we be allies anyway.” Aria shook the woman’s hand. Kaldur nodded towards her. She did the same. 

Everyone watched the heroes as they disappeared behind the camp’s shield.

“So,” Nico was the first to speak to her. “ _Are_ you going to join them, at some point?”

“I really don’t know,” his sister responded. “But I have a feeling that I would be much needed here. What with Percy and Annabeth moving on and leaving Mrs. O’Leary in my care.”

“Wait, he did?” Nico stood as she hummed in confirmation.

Other campers began to swarm her with questions. She tried to answer most of them as Nico walked towards Jason. Somehow through this small bit of chaos, she knew that she could never truly leave this place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
